The Assignment
by Negotiatrix
Summary: Kagome needs help with her art assignment. Miroku turns out to be very qualified to assist her. In the immortal words of Sandra E...Kagome, run! A MonkandMiko challenge fic...in a way.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is work of fan-created fiction and not affiliated with the creators of the Inuyasha anime or manga in any way.

Rating: M (no sex, no kissing even, but it **is **Miroku after all!)

Challenge: Entry for the July 2006 MonkandMiko deviantart club contest, "Line Art." Yeah, so it's not actually a drawing, but there's a drawing **in** it! I also managed to fit in a couple of the drabble challenge words just because I felt like it.

Author's Note: This takes place before Sango joins the gang. So, anywhere in the time of episodes 17 to 23 basically.

* * *

THE ASSIGNMENT

"Oi! What's keeping you?" Inuyasha called back to Kagome. She was lagging behind the others more and more as the afternoon wore on.

"Are you tired already?" The half-demon began his usual mutterings and grumblings about how frail humans were, and females in particular. Kagome briefly considered sitting him, but decided that she didn't feel like giving him even more to complain about. At least his grumbling meant that he was going to stop for the night. This evening in particular, she had other things to worry about. Like the assignment that was due in two days.

She caught up with Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo as they began to discuss the evening's arrangements. Instead of making suggestions and attempting to steer the group to a suitable campsite however, Kagome simply dropped her pack and sat where she was.

"Is something wrong, Kagome?" Shippo asked, inserting himself between Kagome and her backpack. "You look upset."

Kagome's face softened at the little fox demon's obvious concern. "I'm fine, Shippo. I just have a school assignment I need to work on, that's all." She ruffled his hair affectionately, earning a scowl from Inuyasha who had begun to build a fire.

"Oh, who cares about school?" Inuyasha snapped, "Let's get some dinner cooking!" Kagome glared at him and pointedly turned away to dig though her backpack. She pulled out a box of Pocky for Shippo and some snack crackers for herself. They settled down to eat in companionable silence.

"I think we're on dinner duty tonight," Miroku chuckled. Inuyasha glared at them all in turn, then bounded off, muttering about searching for game. Miroku tended the fire until it was going strongly, then set up a spit in anticipation of Inuyasha's successful hunting.

Kagome spent the time staring at her assignment book in growing consternation. Stupid art class! Every student was required to take an art credit, and Kagome had chosen Introduction to Drawing this semester. She had little talent to begin with, and being absent so much wasn't helping. She had missed the entire last month of classes, but still had a chance to pass if she turned in this assignment. All it said was, 'Figure Drawing.' _Something that complicated, already? I must have missed a lot more than I realized!_

Kagome wondered if there was some specification for a male or a female figure to be drawn. She had no way of knowing, and they wouldn't be back to the well till tomorrow. There wouldn't be time to ask for clarification when she got back to her own time since it was due the day after tomorrow. She had to do the drawing now.

Here in the middle of the woods, in the feudal era, her choices of subject were severely limited. Kagome looked at where Shippo was finishing off the pocky. Sighing, she decided that a furry fox child would probably not count as a figure. That left only one choice. Or two rather. Inuyasha and Miroku.

No amount of desperation for a good grade could convince Kagome to ask either of them to bare his chest for her. She would have to be sneaky. Fortunately, they had been traveling along a river that day and now there was an opportunity for bathing. She began her campaign during dinner.

"Since we're next to a river tonight, why don't you take a bath, Inuyasha?" she asked innocently.

"What the hell would I want to do that for?" the dog demon asked, clearly shocked by her request.

"Well, it's not often that we have this chance, and I know I certainly need a good scrubbing!" Kagome said, blushing a little at even talking about such things in the presence of two boys.

"My dear Kagome," Miroku said, suddenly appearing over her shoulder. "There is no need for pretense! If you would like some assistance all you have to do is ask!" he continued magnanimously.

Before she realized what he was doing, he had slipped an arm around her shoulder and his low voice was in her ear, "You don't need to rely on someone as obviously reluctant as Inuyasha to help you. I would happily scrub your back for you and then perhaps you could . . . " He was stopped by a clawed hand at his throat.

"Back off, pervert!" Inuyasha snarled. "And you!" he said, turning to Kagome, "Why the hell are you even talking about something like that with him around? Don't you have any sense? He's . . . " Inuyasha was stopped by the quiet command that brought him to the ground at Kagome's feet.

"I am taking my bath now! I'll go upstream so you two can use the pool in the bend there. I expect to sleep tonight without having my nostrils assaulted by unpleasant odors!" Kagome delivered her ultimatum then stalked into the trees along the river, carrying her backpack and books with her.

Shippo, knowing he was safe for another few moments, danced around the immobilized dog demon, singing, "Inuyasha sti-inks! Inuyasha sti-inks!" Muffled thumps and whining spurred Kagome's feet on toward the river even faster.

After walking a little way upstream, Kagome washed herself hurriedly, not bothering with her hair. After getting back in her clothes and taking out her pencil and sketch pad, she hoisted her pack on her back and carefully crept downstream. She didn't know how the wind was blowing, but she hoped Inuyasha wouldn't notice her scent. She also hoped it was Inuyasha who would bathe first, if he bathed at all. Somehow it just seemed less embarrassing to draw him rather than the monk, whom she barely knew still.

Luck was on her side and she soon caught a flash of red through the bushes. She moved a little closer to the bank and stopped in some dense bushes that had a convenient gap in them. Inuyasha was already stripping off his clothes and Kagome was afraid he would strip all the way. Fortunately for her, he left his fundoshi on. She picked up her pencil and was about to begin sketching when he jumped in the river and ducked under the water. After a moment his head popped up, then he was leaping out of the river again and shaking water everywhere. Before she had time to even realize what he was doing, he was dressed again and stomping back to the campsite.

For the first time in her life, Kagome felt like cursing. She sat back on her heels and threw the pad to the ground. "That Inuyasha is soooo annoying!" she grumbled to herself. The sun was low in the sky and among the trees and bushes the light was fading fast. She didn't have time to do much more tonight. Lost in her own petulant thoughts, she barely heard the footsteps and jingling sounds approaching. When she did notice, Kagome ducked lower in the bushes. She knew this would be Miroku come to take his turn.

He rested his staff against a tree next to the bank and bent to take his sandals off. Kagome was suddenly very nervous. Somehow, watching Inuyasha undress hadn't been so bad. He just took his clothes off and dropped them on the ground. Miroku was more methodical though. He carefully untied his outer robe, then folded it before placing on his sandals so it wouldn't get dirt on it. Parting his kimono, he let the top of the garment fall around his waist. Kagome caught her breath. He stretched his arms over his head and she forgot to breathe at all.

She was simply fascinated by the masculine beauty before her. Where Inuyasha had been pale and silver and white, Miroku was all swarthy skin, dusky shadows and mystery. Instead of smooth, round arms like her own, his were made of all sorts of intriguing bulges and valleys of muscles. Her eyes traced the lines of muscle on his chest and abdomen and she felt her face growing warm. _Who would have guessed what he had hidden under those shapeless robes! _she thought, nearly giggling.

Miroku brought his hands to the tie at his waist and began to strip the rest of the way. Kagome closed her eyes in embarrassment. The soft sound of the fabric being removed was curiously enticing and she found herself imaging what he looked like just then. Finally, she heard the splashes of him entering the water and after a moment she carefully opened her eyes and peered though the leaves.

_Perfect!_ He was sitting on a rock in the water, facing away from her. While his back was also strongly muscled, it was much less embarrassing to look at. The way he had his arms braced behind him was making the muscles even more prominent. He seemed to be content to just relax there, unlike that annoying Inuyasha. She took advantage of his stillness to begin her work.

For a time she forgot all about Miroku as a person and just concentrated on his body. Glancing up from time to time, all she saw before her was line and shape which she attempted to recreate on her paper. She was working on the braided hair against his neck when she realized that something had changed. Blinking, she refocused on the whole figure before her and realized that his head had turned. Turned all the way around. Toward her. Suppressing a squeak of surprise, Kagome scooted back a little into the bushes.

Miroku didn't seem to have noticed anything as he began his ablutions. He was entirely facing Kagome now with his upper body exposed from the waist up. She thought for a brief moment that she ought to be sketching, or maybe even close her eyes again, but found that she had no desire to do so. Every movement of his body seemed to highlight new muscles that she hadn't known existed.

Then Miroku lifted his arms to undo his braid. Kagome stared, fascinated by the tufts of dark hair under his arms and how they seemed to emphasize the breadth of his chest. He suddenly ducked underneath the water and Kagome found herself holding her breath, waiting for him to reappear. He leapt up out of the water and she caught a glimpse of more dark hair leading down his abdomen before the water covered it again. With a quick shake of his head, he flicked the water out of his hair, spraying droplets all around.

The setting sun's angled rays were creating all sorts of intriguing shadows in his wet, muscled chest and Kagome told herself she was just studying anatomy as she drank her fill of the sight._ Yes, one has to study a figure to do a figure drawing correctly of course! _She studied some more and her eye wandered downward to where his bellybutton was a small pool of black against his tanned skin. Below it was that fascinating, curly hair again . . . Wait.

She shouldn't be able to see that! It was underwater! Or rather, it had been. More and more of Miroku was appearing before her shocked eyes. He was coming out of the stream. Unlike Inuyasha, he had removed even his underclothes Kagome discovered. She was horrified, yet aware of a peculiar feeling of curiosity as well. Curiosity won out.

It wasn't until after she had quite thoroughly examined Miroku that she noticed that he was now standing still. In fact, he was standing directly in front of her and pushing a branch aside to reveal her hiding place.

Dimly, Kagome was aware that she ought to be yelling 'pervert' at him, or screaming for Inuyasha to come and rip his guts out, or running away, or something at least somewhat productive. Instead, she took the route of countless other virtuous maidens of yore and fainted dead away.

Miroku, heedless of his current state of undress, swooped in to catch her fall and proceeded to awaken her as any young man in a fairy tale ought.


	2. Chapter 2

The Assignment, part two

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Miroku, heedless of his current state of undress, swooped in to catch her fall and proceeded to awaken her as any young man in a fairy tale ought. Sort of. Kagome's slightly parted lips were certainly tempting, but the way she fell had placed even more enticing territory right within his grasp. He decided that he could not pass up this opportunity. He very thoroughly explored the curves of her delightfully soft bottom while he carefully kneeled and set her down against a tree.

_That ought to wake her up! _He sat back and grinned wolfishly at Kagome, waiting for the inevitable smack to his cheek. It didn't come though. Her eyes remained closed and her head tilted so that her dark hair spilled across her shoulders. His grin faded.

"Kagome?" he whispered. Fear began to creep down his spine when she remained limp and quiet. He knew perfectly well that he had caught her before she could have possibly hit her head on anything, but he decided to check anyway. Carefully, he ran his fingers under her hair, but there were no bumps of any kind. He couldn't help but enjoy the pleasure of her soft hair, and expected her at any moment to lash out at him for his familiarity.

When she still didn't respond to his touch, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. "Hey! Kagome!" he called, louder now.

He felt her body stiffen in his hands for the briefest moment, then relax again. Leaning her back against the tree, he studied her face. There was a slight twitch of an eyelid and her mouth seemed more tense than before. Suspicion replaced his fear of a moment ago. _So, she wants to play? Let's play then!_

Miroku reached out and pulled the ribbon on her blouse, causing her collar to gap open . "I should make her more comfortable," he said to himself, but just loud enough that she could hear him. With slow deliberation he pulled her blouse out of the waistband of her skirt. His hands brushed 'accidentally' against the bare skin of her stomach several times, trying to tickle her. _How can she not react to that?_ Miroku wondered in amazement. If she was going to be that stoic though, he certainly wasn't going to waste the chance for more exploring.

"I wonder if she twisted her ankle when she fell?" he said softly. Skimming his hands down her thigh, he thought he heard a catch in her breathing. Her knee socks briefly distracted him with their odd stretchiness as he ran his fingers underneath the edge. Her foot definitely twitched when he wrapped his hand around her ankle. As he expected, it felt completely normal and uninjured.

He turned his attention to her other leg now. He slowly slid his hand up her calf and along the smooth skin of her inner thigh. Moving his hand under her skirt he wondered just how determined she was to maintain the appearance of unconsciousness. When he had just barely gotten a glimpse of her tantalizingly strange undergarment Kagome decided she'd had enough.

With a small scream she jerked away and landed a solid kick against his chest. Miroku was unable to catch himself before landing on his bare behind, struggling to catch his breath again.

"What the hell are you **doing**?" Kagome demanded, scooting further away just in case. Miroku managed to get back to a kneeling position and just smiled at her in spite of her violence toward him. Kagome was debating the efficacy of smacking that look off his face when he finally answered.

"Why, I'm making sure that you are uninjured of course," he said matter-of-factly. The knowing smirk belied his show of concern and Kagome felt no compunction about slapping him as hard as she could muster.

He stood, rubbing his cheek and grinning while Kagome, kneeling now, glared up at him in fury. Until she took in the full view that is. She didn't know how she could have forgotten why she had pretended to faint to begin with; he was still naked.

It had seemed, in that moment of panic, like the perfect escape from the most embarrassing situation of her life. She would faint, Miroku would leave, then she would throw herself into the river and hope a water demon ate her and the sketch book before anyone else ever found out what she had been doing. Instead, here she was, nearly eye-level with male anatomy that definitely did not look like the small, black and white drawings in her biology textbook.

"Well, Kagome?" Miroku chuckled. "Any explanation for why you were spying on me? Or shall we just dispense with the excuses and go on from here? Seeing you this way gives me so many ideas!" He smiled suggestively down at her.

Kagome was sure she was blushing several new shades of red. Uncertain of how to respond to his teasing, she turned away to retrieve her sketch book, but it was still near the bushes. On hands and knees, she reached out to grab it, inadvertently giving Miroku an eyeful of the backs of her thighs under her skirt.

"This just gets better and better!" he crowed. Kagome looked over her shoulder to see him leaning over to the side for a better view. She positively growled as she scrambled to her feet, and pushed her skirt down. Miroku was laughing helplessly while leaning against the tree with one hand.

"Why you . . .you're not even a pervert! You're worse than a pervert! You're . . .I don't know **what** you are, but it's bad!" Kagome sputtered while stalking back over to Miroku and shaking her finger in his face.

Suddenly Miroku leaned in close to her, placing his other hand on the tree as well. With his arms braced on either side of her, Kagome gasped, realizing that she was well and truly trapped. Tree bark pressed against her back, and Miroku's very naked body was very nearly pressing against her front.

"Yes, I **am** bad," he told her in a low, serious tone that made her shiver. His smoky eyes bored into hers she began to feel a little afraid. For all that he was just a few years older than she, he was very much a man and not a boy. She wasn't sure she could get away from him if she had to.

Miroku actually felt a little sorry for Kagome. It was obvious that she was in way over her head and he hadn't meant to frighten her. Moving back a little, he flashed her his usual disarming grin and she visibly relaxed. Still, he wasn't going to let her off quite this easily.

"What an unusual turn of events this is! Being the one that's spied upon while bathing is certainly a new experience for me," Miroku said, smiling even more broadly when Kagome blushed adorably.

"There I was, trying to meditate and forget worldly cares when I sensed a presence behind me. Little did I dream it would be the innocent-seeming little Kagome, come to spy on me in my moment of vulnerability!" Miroku's eyes positively sparked with glee and he shifted his position so that she could feel his thigh brush against hers. At least she really, really hoped that was his thigh. She was **not** going to look to find out!

"I, umm, I wasn't . . .that is. . ." Kagome stumbled over words as her mind refused to accept that her current situation was entirely her own fault.

Miroku was continuing his story however. "I finished washing, remembering how you said that you wished to sleep in comfort tonight," He winked at her and went on, "Then, thinking that you must have surely fled by then, I came out of the water only to find you still here . . . and still watching me!"

Kagome's mouth opened, but nothing came out. All of her concentration was focused on Miroku's nearness, and the necessity of **not **looking down. There was simply no room in her head for thinking of something to say.

Miroku, although enjoying his teasing of Kagome immensely, was beginning to have difficulties of his own now. The residual effects of the river's cold water and his concern about Kagome's unconsciousness had dampened the physical evidence of his enjoyment at first. Now however, things were getting much more lively, in all respects. Nevertheless, he was having too much fun to heed any cautions from the rational part of his mind.

"Kagome, you surprise me," Miroku said, now with a mournful expression. "I had no idea you were such a naughty girl! I was under the impression that in your world you are too young to be looking at naked men!"

Seizing on her obvious excuse, Kagome cried out, "But, I had to! For school!" Miroku glanced at the sketch pad she pointed out, abandoned on the ground. Kagome looked at it as well, her eyes involuntarily moving down Miroku's body as she did so. She squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut when she noticed that he looked quite different now from when he first came out of the river.

"Miroku!" she cried out, "Would you please just put your clothes back on!" her voice grew louder and more shrill with each word. She pressed her hands over her eyes and slumped weakly against the tree. Miroku laughed, but she sensed him move away from her.

She could hear him moving around, hopefully getting dressed, then there was silence. _Did he leave already?_ She mentally kicked herself for feeling disappointed. Kagome opened her eyes and resolutely took a step, intending to retrieve her pad and what was left of her dignity. Fate had other ideas however and she immediately crashed into Miroku's chest. _At least it's a fully clothed chest, _she thought. A very broad, warm chest which she already knew was well muscled. Under her curious hands it **felt** very firm and well muscled too. _Stop that! _she told herself sternly.

"Stop that!" she yelled at Miroku for good measure.

"I'm not the one who's doing the groping this time!" He waved his hands at her to prove it and grinned. Kagome gasped and jolted away from him. Miroku had to help extricate one of her hands from where the traitorous thing had slipped under the opening of his robes.

It wasn't until they were finally separated that Kagome noticed how dark it was suddenly. Under the trees she could hardly see anything. Behind Miroku, the river was still glowing with the reflection of the sky's last light, but soon it would be dark as well. She was torn between putting as much distance as she could between them, and reaching out to hold his hand for comfort. She didn't think she would ever get used to just how **dark** the Feudal Era was at night.

They stood for a moment together and Kagome felt even more intimately aware of him in the darkness than when he had been naked. She heard him inhale as if about to speak, but whatever it was would remain forever unsaid as they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kagome! What is taking you so damn long?" Inuyasha called as he crashed through the trees toward them. Paralyzed by embarrassment and guilt, Kagome couldn't reply. Inuyasha's grumbles about women and cleanliness and water in general were closing in fast.

"Let me know the next time you need help with your schoolwork," Miroku whispered in her ear at the same time that she noticed the now familiar feel of his hand under her skirt. Automatically Kagome lashed out to slap him, but he had already disappeared into the shadows. She overbalanced and fell into the bushes.

It wasn't until she was back at the campsite and in the circle of firelight that she noticed the damage her fall had inflicted on her hair and clothing. Inuyasha noticed as well.

"What was the point in all of us washing if you come back even filthier than before?" he grumbled, not unreasonably he thought. Kagome's "Inuyasha, SIT!" echoed all over the forest.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, here it is finally. This conclusion went through several incarnations before I settled on this one. So many of you lovely reviewers wanted the continuation that I felt compelled to make it the best I could. Yes, I know that many of you naughty readers wanted a lemon, but that's just not something I can write! I hope this is a satisfactory ending anyway, though I myself liked the ending of the first part. It leaves so much to the imagination! Review and let me know what you think! 

-Neg


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